Category Archives: Israel

Virtual Book Club: Crisis of Zionism Chapter 3

This is a short chapter, and it sets up what, it seems to me, should be a straw man, but actually isn’t: the argument that American Jews should never criticize Israel.  For Beinart the notion that American Jews should never … Continue reading

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Virtual Book Club: Crisis of Zionism Chapter Two

Explanation of Virtual Book Club here. Discussion of Introduction and Chapter One here. This was a confounding chapter for me.  On the one hand, Peter Beinart wants to argue that the situation we are in right now is—as the title … Continue reading

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Debate Reaction: Beinart versus Gordis

Last night in New York, Peter Beinart, author of Crisis of Zionism (the subject of our Virtual Book Club!) and Dr. Daniel Gordis (author of many, many, things, including this brutal review of said book) squared off in a debate … Continue reading

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Virtual Book Club: “Crisis of Zionism” Intro and Chapter One

I have to admit that the Introduction to “Crisis of Zionism” made me nervous.  And maybe not in the way you might think.  Beinart opens the book with two formative experiences, one Jewish, the other—broadly speaking—liberal.  (Throughout the book Beinart … Continue reading

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Virtual Book Club: The Crisis of Zionism

Over the last month or so, Peter Beinart’s book The Crisis of Zionism, has inspired a tremendous amount of conversation, denunciation, and prognostication.  (I love that last word.)  I have read a lot about the book, and I have read … Continue reading

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Hearing All Sides

A few months ago, the subject of the AVODAH/AJWS trip to Israel (through a join alumni program between the two organizations called Pursue) burned fast and hot.  People resigned, petitions were written, tempers flared.  Even I got into the act, … Continue reading

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Israel on the TV

Alyssa Rosenberg, a culture blogger at Think Progress, notes that Israeli television is becoming quite a source for American popular culture: The Hollywood Reporter notes that New Regency’s just signed a deal that lets it have first crack at content … Continue reading

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Israel Good News

I think that sometimes on this blog I tend towards the difficult Israel news, and I am trying to correct that.  Here is some great news: A group of leaders from North America’s Conservative (Masorti) Movement held a joint prayer … Continue reading

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Pro-Israel in a Moment

I have been very impressed with Moment magazine of late.  I lost touch with Moment some time about a decade ago, thinking of it as a not particularly interesting Jewish monthly.  But recently I started reading it again, and, as … Continue reading

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The Problem of Prisoner Swaps

Despite the near-euphoria in Israel and the wider Jewish world when Gilad Shalit returned to his family, there was, alongside the joy, a clear sense that the price for his safe return had been quite high.  The danger, of course, … Continue reading

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Marriage Equity

No, not in the United States.  In Israel.  It seems the Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel, Yona Metzger, is not a fan of a bill making itself way through the Knesset. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger on Thursday contacted all … Continue reading

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The Israeli Bus Situation is Not Like Rosa Parks

A few weeks ago, a woman names Tayna Rosenblit did something quite brave, even though it really should not have been: she sat wherever she wanted on a public bus in Israel.  Of course, that is her right, but for … Continue reading

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Enforce the Law

It’s really that simple.  Women (no one, actually) should not be beaten for sitting on a bus wherever they want.  This would seem to me to be fundemantal, but apparently, on some buses in Jerusalem, it is not: Miriam Shear … Continue reading

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The Real Problem

Those Israeli ads, which have since been pulled by the Netanyahu government, are a serious problem, and here’s why, as explained so well by an article in Tablet by an American Jew and her Israeli husband: Often, we feel real remorse … Continue reading

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Oy

There are so many things wrong with this new propaganda ad campaign coming out of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorbtion in Israel that it’s hard to know where to start. Watch this video on YouTube For those who can’t understand the … Continue reading

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